The Sony DCR-PC109 Handycam offers good video quality in a glittering, highly portable package that's sure appeal to the gadget freak in all of us. In form and function, the PC109 most closely matches up against the Canon Optura 400, but the Canon offers slightly better video quality and larger still-image capture for only a slightly higher price.

Sony achieved the PC109's small size by placing FireWire, USB, S-Video, and AC power ports on a separate Handycam Station. Composite video and stereo audio connectors are on the main camcorder body, so you can watch your videos on a television set without the dock.

The PC109 uses an upright pistol-grip design. The power button is on the back, and there are recording buttons on the back and on the 2.5-inch LCD on the left. We like that you can comfortably wrap your fingers around the front of the camcorder without obscuring any lights or controls, and you can work the nicely sized zoom control with your right index finger.

Just behind the zoom control is the photo shutter-release button, which captures still images up to 1,152-by-864 to the bottom-loading Memory Stick media. There is a burst mode and a timer, but no built-in flash unit, though you can add one via the intelligent hot shoe. You can also connect an external microphone via the shoe or the microphone input port. Despite its small size, the PC109 offers analog-to-digital conversion, a handy feature for those with analog video libraries.

The PC109 offers a fully automatic Easy mode for beginners, with advanced controls available via the LCD panel. The animated 3D menus look cool but otherwise function similarly to the 2D controls on the Sony DCR-HC20 Handycam. The PC109 provides enough control for intermediate and advanced users, though most would prefer to use buttons or dials on the body rather than on the touch-screen.

The PC109 is built around a 1/5-inch CCD that performed very well in our trials. Our lab tests showed the its video resolution at 400 lines, on a par with most other camcorders, while Gretag-Macbeth color chart tests showed highly accurate colors.

On our "talking head" test, the PC109 produced sharp detail and good colors in both dark and light areas, with near-perfect exposure throughout, and minimal artifacts. High-action tests showed some refocus lags, but quality was generally good. The only times the PC109 ranked below the top half were in our low-light conditions, where the camcorder produced overly dark and grainy images.

Analysis of the camcorder's still-capture ability resulted in a visual-resolution score of 450 average lines and an acceptable pixel-transition average of 5 percent. The PC109's 1-megapixel still image lacked sufficient resolution to capture all the detail of our complex still-life scene; it was soft, with just a hint of pixelation. Overall, however, while colors were a touch underexposed, the image was acceptable. Though the pictures lacked the resolution for full-page printing, they were certainly sufficient for the Web or PC screens.

The DCR-PC109 Handycam is a very good buy for the money; though we like our EC, the Canon Optura 400, a bit more, you will pay a bit more for its slightly better video quality.

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